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When he didn’t answer, just continued to stare up at her wide-eyed and panting, she gave a low huff.

“Never mind.” She rolled away, and he immediately missed her warmth. “I don’t care where you came from, but if you sit down and don’t touch anything, I’ll let you stay.”

She was on her feet now, looking out across a large frozen pond. Skye moved to follow, but her eyes snapped to his, pinning him in place.

“I mean it.” She stabbed a finger at him. “I don’t know how you’re here or why, but I’m notwatching you die tonight. Your only job is to sit there and keep yourself alive. Think you can handle that?”

Skye held up his hands in surrender, almost laughing when Taly gave a suspicious yet satisfied nod. “You said that last time too.”

“Said what?” she asked, dusting the snow from her clothes.

“That I always die.” He waited for her to turn. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because you always die.” Theidiotwas implied. “Every night, I dream about you dying. So far, you’ve been eaten by shades, killed by mages, ripped apart by beasts. I even saw Sarina set you on fire in a fit of temper once. Granted, it wasn’t the fire that killed you. But you were still just as dead after you fell off the city wall and into that swarm of shades.”

Skye swallowed. “It sounds like you really want me dead.”

“The exact opposite actually,” she said as she sat on the ground beside him. “Leto says that my subconscious is instinctively seeking out the things I’m most afraid of and… running the variables. Trying to find a way around it. Which is why” —she glared at the pond— “I can’t figure out why I keep ending up here night after night. This is the past. The past doesn’t change.”

Groaning, she fell back into the snow. “It’s so cold. And wet. And cold. And why couldn’t I dream of someplace warmer? If I’m going to be stuck in the past, I’d rather be at that beach in Faro we went to the last time the Aion Gate opened. It was so nice and sunny, and they had those fruity drinks with little umbrellas. The humans reallystruck gold on that one—all drinks should come with little umbrellas.”

“Taly?” Skye said, leaning over her. When she didn’t open her eyes, he flicked her nose. “I don’t understandanyof that.”

“That’s not surprising.” She reached up, blindly patting him on the head. “But you’re not real, so it would be a waste of time and energy to try to explain.”

Skye’s stomach clenched.She thinks this is just a dream.And that meant she wasn’t the one doing this. She hadn’t used some kind of spell or device to signal him. Not intentionally, at least.

He shook his head.Later. They could figure out the how later. Right now, he just needed to know one thing.

“Where are you?” he asked. “Just tell me where you are, and I’ll come find you.”

A snort. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Skye bit back a growl. They didn’t have time for this. “Where are you?” he asked again, almost succeeding at keeping his tone even.

“You know,” Taly said, turning her face towards the sun, “I’m pretty sure I told you not to come looking for me.”

Oh, she had. In that damned note he was still carrying around in his pocket two weeks later.

“That was a really shitty thing to do, by the way.” He didn’t try to hide the hurt in his voice. Because surely—surely, she had to know she had ripped his heart out and taken it with her when she left. “What did you expect me to do when I found that note? Huh?‘I’m sorry, but I have to make this right. Don’t come looking for me.’What kind of bullshit was that?”

Taly finally cracked open an eye.

“You promised me you weren’t going to lie anymore.” He ran a finger along the downy line of white fur on her collar. “You promised, and you did it anyway, and that’s not fair, Tink. It’s not fair that I’m always the one that gets left behind.”

Taly sat up, and he’d never seen her eyes so sad.

“Where are you?” He was begging now, but he didn’t care. “I know you think this is just a dream, but for one minute, pretend it’s not. Pretend that’s it’s real, thatI’mreal, and tell me how to find you. Please, Tink. Just tell me how to find you.”

“You can’t.”

“Please, this isn’t—”

“I mean it.” Her hand came up to cup his face, and he leaned into the touch, reaching up to thread his fingers through hers. “Even if you looked, you wouldn’t be able to find me. It’s not as simple aswhereI am. If it was, I’d already be home.”

“Explain,” he demanded. “If it’s not aboutwhere, then what is it?”

Taly sighed. “We live on an island where the veil between worlds is naturally porous. An island that’s been ruled by time mages ever since it was discovered eons and eons ago. And even though they’re gone now, that doesn’t mean their magic no longer exists. The gates alone are proof of that. Which means that on Tempris, the question ofwherestarts to get complicated. It gets all tangled up withwhen,and that’s why no matter what you do, no matter what kind of magic you wield, you’re never going to find me. I’m not there for you to find.”